It's About Time
by ForeverSirius77
Summary: Even in the middle of all the terror, there are light moments: even in a world of hatred, love can be found. Such is the case when two friends admit their feelings for each other, feelings they've harboured for several years. Full summary inside. RHr.


**_Disclaimer_**_: Anything you recognise does not belong to me, however much I wish that it did. Instead, it all belongs to J. K. Rowling. However, anything you do not recognise does belong to me. Specifically, there are bits of dialogue taken from the actual Harry Potter novels by Rowling. The bits in Hermione's view come from Page 400 of "Chapter Twenty-Two: The Unexpected Task" and Pages 421 and 432 in "Chapter Twenty-Three: The Yule Ball" in _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, _and the bit of dialogue in Ron's flashback comes from Page 226 of "Chapter Eleven: Hermione's Helping Hand" in _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. _(The page numbers are taken from the American Hardback Editions by Scholastic.)_

**_Summary_**_: There are dark times on the horizon, and everyone knows it. War and death assaults the Wizarding World everyday, but even in the middle of all the terror, there are light moments; even in a world of hatred, love can be found. Such is the case when two friends admit their feelings for each other, feelings that they have harboured for several years._

**_Author's__ Note_**_: This was originally written for the Skele-Gro Challenge on the MNFF forums. (The challenge was to write a Ron/Hermione one-shot with certain things included in the fic.) It was a lot of fun, especially as this was my first jaunt into writing pure Ron/Hermione romance. It's just a short, fluffy romantic piece, which is also completely out of my comfort zone – I don't have any darker aspects to this romance like I usually do in stories. But regardless, here it is. I present for your enjoyment,_ It's About Time.

* * *

**It's About Time**

**By ForeverSirius77**

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the open window in a house in Oxford, and its rays of warm light fell upon the single figure of a young woman lying on her bed, a heavy leather book held tightly in her hands. In most normal circumstances, this seventeen-year-old, brown-haired girl would be completely immersed in the tiny words and detailed diagrams scattered throughout the book, but today, her mind was wandering, and she hadn't turned a page in over a quarter of an hour. As a matter of fact, her eyes didn't even appear to be focussing on the page. Finally, the girl gave an exasperated sigh and shut the book, rolling onto her back to stare half-heartedly at the ceiling of her bedroom.

_You need to concentrate, Hermione,_ she thought to herself as another sigh escaped her. _These books are_ bound _to have spells Harry'll need, and all you can do is think about Ron._ But no matter how much Hermione Granger tried to rebuke herself, telling herself that her attention should be focussed elsewhere, she just couldn't make it deviate from her other best friend ... a friend that could possibly become a little more.

_No!_ she thought, jerking up in her bed. _Harry is the one that matters now, Voldemort matters, the Horcruxes matter ..._ The thoughts, however, refused to leave her mind and so, for a moment, she reflected back ...

* * *

_"Just because it's taken_ you _three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one_ else _has spotted I'm a girl!" Hermione said, her eyes just glaring at the redheaded boy in front of her. How dare he even think she's lying? What possible reason could she have for lying about a date to the Yule Ball?_

_"You – you're –_ fraternising with the enemy, _that's what you're doing!" For the briefest of moments after her best friend had spoken, Hermione could barely even think straight – and that was indeed saying something for her. Ron's comment was, at the same time as being ridiculous –_ 'Fraternising with the enemy?' – _still a bit hurtful. How could he even think such a thing?_

_"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" Oh, she had had enough, of that Hermione was sure. She'd indulged his petty jealousy all night long, but there was no way she would just let the whole thing continue. And he_ should _have asked her, after all. She had wanted to go with him just as much as he had wanted to go with her, but it was only_ his _fault that she hadn't._

_She stood there, watching, as Ron and Lavender entangled themselves where everyone in Gryffindor Tower could see. She felt her chest constrict, her breathing hurting her lungs, and she could feel the watery tears wanting to fall._ No, _she thought as she left the common room, hastily wiping her eyes._ I won't cry.

* * *

Finally, Hermione rose from her bed, shaking the memories away as she walked towards the open window. It was time to admit it to herself. _I love Ron,_ she thought. _And I have for years._

* * *

"Ginny, get down here right now!"

"Fred, George, stop that this instant!"

"Mum, I'm busy!"

"Molly, dear, I have to go."

The multitude of voices floated up the stairs of The Burrow all the way to Ron's room, where, thankfully, they died down a bit in their volume. The youngest Weasley son was just playing around with his piles of Wizarding cards, having nothing better to do and seeking at the same time to avoid the chaos downstairs as Bill and Fleur's wedding drew ever closer. _I wish Harry and Hermione were here,_ he thought, sighing, as he flipped through another stack.

Ron rose from the floor and headed towards his bed, his mind spinning with thoughts of the future. Destroying He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was a momentous task for Harry, Ron knew, and there was so much that had to be done beforehand. And as time went on, the war continued ... _and there's no guarantee that we'll make it through alive._

It was a thought that dwelled in everyone's head ever since You-Know-Who had come back, though no one wanted to voice it aloud. _But it's real,_ Ron thought. _No one is safe anymore._ As he thought about these "somewhat morbid" thoughts, Ron's eyes wandered over to a recent letter from Hermione – in her usual, foot-long parchment length, that is.

A grin appeared on his face as he pictured the bushy-haired girl pouring over one of her three-ton books, her nose an inch from the page. _Hermione ..._

* * *

_"You did brilliantly, Ron!" He turned and grinned when he heard Hermione's voice as she rushed down from the stands to join him and Harry. The smile was brilliant on her face, and it made him feel even more joyous than his performance on the Quidditch pitch had just done._

_Though her face was sparkling with tears, she was still beautiful, and Ron held her close as her body shook with sobs. Gently, he reached up and wiped her gleaming face, whispering comforting words in her ear all the time._

* * *

"I love her," he muttered to the empty room, his gaze on the far wall. "I love my best friend, and always have."

* * *

The next several weeks passed by far quicker than anyone had thought they would. Before either Ron or Hermione knew it, Harry had joined the two of them at The Burrow and the wedding was only two days away. Chaos had increased at the Weasley household over the previous weeks, but luckily, there were no lasting problems, and on the day of the wedding, everything was running smoothly ... Fred and George were behaving remarkably well (Mrs Weasley still kept looking at her twin sons as if she was expecting them to do _something_); Charlie was spending a lot of _private_ time with a co-worker from Romania; Ron and Ginny were almost inseparable from Harry and Hermione, and Mrs Weasley was thrilled to see that her youngest child and Harry weren't pushing each other away. _It's about time,_ she thought, a grin on her face.

Many of the Order also attended the wedding and everything went without problems. The reception was enjoyable, and no matter whatever the fear and terror that existed in the outside world with the war, The Burrow was proof that life went on; it was like The Burrow existed as its own little world – apart from all the darkness, this happiness, this lack of fear could exist and reign for this moment, however brief that moment would be.

* * *

"Hermione, wait up!"

Hermione turned around at the voice, her eyes catching sight of Ron as the redhead hurried up to her. Ginny, seeming to sense what her brother was going to do, left her friend and ran forward to join Harry.

"What is it, Ron?" asked Hermione.

"Can ... Can I talk to you for a moment?" Ron tried to keep his voice steady, but he was well-aware that his hands were shaking. But now was the time, he knew. He'd thought about it for weeks, and he knew that he was ready to tell Hermione how he felt.

"Sure," said the seventeen-year-old witch, her own heart beginning to pound against her chest as she followed Ron into The Burrow, where they stopped right inside the kitchen.

In the quiet of the kitchen, the two friends felt a brief awkwardness fall over them. Hoping to end this uncomfortable feeling, both started to speak at the same time.

"Ron –"

"Hermione –"

They both laughed for a bit before the quietness came back. Finally, though, it was broken by Ron. "Hermione, I just ... well, I wanted to say that ... I've been thinking ..."

"It's fine, Ron," whispered Hermione. "I feel the same way." And that was the moment when everything connected. Everything that had dwelled within the two Gryffindors for years came out into the open; the thoughts they'd had concerning each other over the summer were finally revealed; and all secrets just drifted away. There was nothing else left to do except ...

Ron's and Hermione's lips connected in a kiss, their movements at first slow and awkward, almost hesitant, but then as they relaxed, the kiss became easier. When they pulled apart from each other, slight pink blushes crept up two faces and two smiles split their lips.

* * *

"Well, it's about time," said Mrs Weasley as Ron and Hermione rejoined the party outside. The guests all looked at the returning teenagers, both of whom still had slight blushes on their faces. At the moment that they noticed the many pairs of eyes on them, however, their previously-locked hands came apart almost at the speed of light. But there was simply no more hiding it, no more denying it.

"Oh, finally, Ron," sighed Ginny.

"It took the two of you long enough, you know," said Harry, the smile on his face stretching from ear to ear as he struggled to suppress the roaring laugh that wanted to escape. "Since the Yule Ball, wasn't it, Ginny?"

"Probably before then, but yeah, definitely by their fourth year." Grins littered every single face of the guests, but none of them were larger than those on Ron's freckled face and Hermione's tanned and glowing face.

"You know, Hermione," said Ron. "I think they're right."

"Yeah, they are." And they both shared another kiss, this time to the view of the entire world.

* * *

**_Author's__ Note_**_: Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this short story. Like I said, I've never written a pure R/Hr story, and I'd like to know how you think I did. Don't hesitate to leave your opinions._

_--ForeverSirius77_


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